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The Ring Companion by Denis Meikle
01/11/2005 . Source: Phil Jones 
pub: Titan Books. 271 page illustrated softcover. Price: £16.99 (UK), $19.95 (US). ISBN: 1-84576-001-8. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out websites: www.titanbooks.com
Horror films, especially those with a more psychological slant, have been altogether have been pretty thin on the ground, especially in the 70s, 80s and 90s, both here in the west and also in the east. There have been a few exceptions, but on the whole the Hollywood machine usually has output the slasher, horror by numbers multiplex fodder and not much else. While in Japan, a host of monsters flicks with a few good ghost story films thrown in.
Books, on the other hand, there have been quite a few wholesome offerings for horror fans but even in this field there is plenty of low-level waste on the bookshelves. In 1989, the author Koji Suzuki (western convention) penned the first of a series of books, 'Ringu' or 'Ring'. Suzuki is not in fact a horror writer per say. With 'Ring', Suzuki explores the idea of an urban myth. A video tape that if watched, the viewer is cursed and seven days after the viewer dies of what emanates to be fright or to some the rapid onset of a virus. The book though is more complex than just this story tagline. Through the main characters, the book explores the imagery and source of the tape.
The book was only moderately successful with a TV version 'The Ring', 'Kanzenban' being made in Japan in 1995. This was a reasonably faithful production of the book, but it wasn't till 1998, nearly seven years after the book was published, a relatively low budget independent film launched 'The Ring' onto the Japanese and then the world stage. Directed by Hideo Nakata, the film was known to western fans as 'Ringu'. Two Japanese film sequels followed along with a host of different media versions. Hollywood jumped on the bandwagon with 'The Ring' after the record-breaking box office figures across Asia along with a Korean version 'Ring': 'Virus'.
As par for the course, Hollywood totally failed to capture any of the Japanese film's sentiment, style or integrity. Scared by the sheer ambiguity of the Japanese film, the US version, called 'The Ring', resorted to box ticking and end up with a sub-standard but slickly produced clone of Hideo's pivotal version. His film sparked off a complete revitalisation of the Asian horror film industry and the start of J(apanese)-horror sub-genre.
This 'Ring Companion' is aimed at the lay fan and not the ardent or purist. It covers pretty much every version of 'Ring' and its sequels in every media format, film prequels and all the various remakes. It also covers Susuki's novels and how they differ from the films, the process of their creation and comments by Suzuki himself. Both with the books and the films, you are presented with more than just a synopsis, you are given a thorough outline, critic and commentary on all the Ring's interpretations and media forms. Also, the same is true of all the various spin-offs and films that were created on the back of the Rings' success such as 'The Eye' and 'Dark Water'. There are a few spoilers here as Denis Meikle gives a scene by scene account, but he does hold back and keep the final scenes and their analysis to the last chapter of the book. If you haven't seen the original Hideo Nakata's film of 'Ring' then make sure you see it before plundering into the depths of this companion.
Denis Meikle also goes into detail of how these films came about. He bestows us a quick guide to Japanese history, its film industry and the development of J-Horror. There is also a discussion on the development of horror, both in the east and west and how they differ. There are numerous references to books, historical figures and films from all sides of the world. It helps to give this companion real depth and interest not just to fans of 'The Ring'. If you are just interested in Japanese film, then this would be a worth addition to your book shelf. It is informative and interesting and not scared to criticise some of the film versions, especially the US versions. Meikle also justifies his castigation with logical argument and doesn't just pander to fans. There is a list of cast and credits for all of the films and bibliography. The only main problem with the book is probably the pictures and film grabs. These are on the whole poorly printed and would have been better if they were in colour, but you can't have everything.
I think this will appeal to fans and film buffs alike. If you're interested in Japanese culture then this book will be worth a look as well.
Phil Jones
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